Improvement in picks or axes



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT MOORE, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN PICKS OR AXES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,970, dated March 24, 18b3.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT MoonE, of the city of San Francisco, in the State of California, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement on Picks or Pick-Axes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and marks thereon.

The drawings forming part of this specitication show what is ordinarily called the miners or mining pick constructed under my improvement, Figure 1 of these drawings representing, by an elevation, a pick attached to the handle as ready for use Fig. 2 showing the pick and handle separate and apart; Fig. 3 showing the attaching portions of the pick and handle in place, the view being by longitudinal section; Fig. 4 being a view; by transverse section, of the socket at the lower end of the handle; and Fig. 5 being a view of the pick separated from the handle, the inner or attaching surface of the pick being shown.

In each of these gures, where like parts appear, like letters are used to designate the parts.

My improvement relates to means for connecting the pick to its handle, these means allowing of the ready detaching or attaching of the one to the other, and of the two being held irmly and close to each other when intended for use.

It is very important to the miner that he should have a pick which can be conveniently packed, readily attached to or detached from its handle, and that the means for attaching and detaching should be few, not liable to be lost, and strong and durable. It is also important that such means should not lessen the strength of the pick or the handle.

As originally constructed, and as used for many years, the miners pick had an eye or socket at about its center, into which the handle was inserted and its end wedged. If the handle was left in while the miner was prospecting, the pick was carried with great inconvenience; if the handle was taken out and again iitted in when the use of the pick was required, trouble and delay necessarily resulted. The eye at about the center of the pick added to the expense of its manufacture, while it rendered the pick of less strength than it would be if solid or without the eye. Hence efforts were directed toward making the miners pick detachable. In one ofthe improvements of these efforts the handle is attached to the pick by a bolt which is passed through the eye and secured to the end of the handle by a key and straps; in another of these improvements straps, or a continuous band' passed around the pick, are secured to the end of the handle. As will readily be perceived, material objections exist against both of these plans; the one has the objections of the weakness, from the eye, the number of pieces, and the expense; the other to the objections of not being means for securing rmly the pick ,to the handle, and ofthe interference of the band or straps in the use of the pick while both are open to the objections of being expensive and the liability of the parts to work loose when in use.

My improvement is intended to remedy the evils of and remove the objections believed to exist against the miners pick when detached from its handle.

As is shown by the drawings, the pick a has at or near its center a stout inward projecting piece, b, and the handlec, at its lower end a socket, d, firmly secured to it by the extension-pieces e, which embrace its edges. When the piece bis within the socket,a key, f, passed through the square hole g of the socket and a like hole, h, of the piece b, will firmly hold the pick to its handle. The end of the socket will be held closely to the pick, and in using the pick there will not be any working loose.

The key f may be solid and by a chain be hung to the handle, or it may be so split or divided up toward its base or broadest end as to be somewhat of a spring-key, and thus be, perhaps, less likely to work out.

The pick and the handle and the means of attachment, can be made of any of the materialsvusually employed. As will readily bev seen, any individual can easily replace the handle if broken and repair the parts, or substitute others for them if needed.

In the place of the wooden handle and the socket, a 'cast handle with a recess and asquare hole may be used.

When separated, the pick, handle, and key can very conveniently be carried or packed away, and in a moment be connected and put ready for use. The socket in the end of the handlefor the reception of tli'e projecting piece Y What I claim :is my invention, andilesre t of the pick and the hole for the reception of secnre by Letters Patent, is-

the key, being in and through metal only, The picky a, With the projecting piece b, the makes all the surfaces of contact between the socket d, and key f, constructed, combined, pick and the socket, and all the surfaces of and arranged as herein set forth.

strain of them, metal surfaces, thus rendering This specification signed this. 2d. day of Septhe connection of the pick and socket more tember, 1862.

durable and stronger than such connection Witnesses: ALBERT MOORE. would be if part of these surfaces named were l `RANKLIN DEXTER,

of wood. W. W. MONTAGUE. 

